[03/12/12 - 10:46 AM]Live + 7 Ratings: Setting a New Record, ABC's "Modern Family" is the #1 Series 3 Weeks in a RowABC further spins the numbers for the week of February 20-26.

[via press release from ABC]

Live + 7 Ratings: Setting a New Record, ABC's "Modern Family" is the #1 Series 3 Weeks in a Row

Live + 7 Day Ratings for the week of 2/20/12 (Week #23):

Based on the Live + 7 Day ratings, ABC's Modern Family emerged as TV's #1 series for the 3rd consecutive week in Adults 18-49 (7.6 rating), moving ahead of the week's initial leader, NBC's The Voice, to lead by 10% (6.9). The ABC sitcom also surged ahead of CBS' The Big Bang Theory for its 5th straight original telecast, topping the CBS sitcom by 9% in the Live + 7 numbers (7.0). In addition, Modern Family beat both editions of Fox's American Idol by impressive double-digit percentages in the young adult demo, dominating Idol-Weds by 25% (6.1) and Idol-Thurs by 36% (5.6). Initially in the Live + Same Day statistics, Modern Family ranked behind The Voice, The Big Bang Theory and American Idol-Weds.

· Based on Nielsen's DVR playback data for the week, ABC claimed 2 of the Top 3 biggest gainers via time-shifted viewing among Adults 18-49 with Modern Family (+2.8 rating) and Grey's Anatomy (+1.6 rating), as the ABC sitcom topped the charts for its 14th straight original telecast in both viewers and young adults. In fact, Modern Family set a new record with its 2.8 ratings build, marking its 4th original telecast in a row to deliver record-setting gains.

· Among Adults 18-49, ABC saw 3 series add on at least a full rating point over their initially reported numbers: Modern Family (+2.8 rating - 4.8 to 7.6), Grey's Anatomy (+1.6 rating - 3.1 to 4.7) and Private Practice (+1.1 rating - 2.1 to 3.2).

Please Note: All 4 of ABC's Sunday night series were pre-empted for the Oscars this week.

Season-to-Date DVR Playback (9/19/11-2/26/12):

On average for the 2011-12 season, ABC's Modern Family and Grey's Anatomy are the season's Top 2 biggest gainers via time-shifted viewing among Adults 18-49 (picking up 2.5 rating points and 1.6 rating points, respectively), while the ABC sitcom continues to rank as the season's biggest overall gainer among Total Viewers (+4.87 million).

· With Modern Family (7.9 rating) and Grey's Anatomy (5.3), ABC claims this season's #1 scripted series/comedy and #1 drama, respectively, in the key young adult demo based on original telecasts. In fact, Modern Family is closing in on NBC's Super Bowl-boosted The Voice (8.7) to stand as the season's #1 entertainment program, chopping the gap to 8-tenths of a rating point this week (down from 1.4 rating points the prior week).

Source: The Nielsen Company, as dated. Based on original, regular telecasts only.